New Zealand aims to boost off-peak tourism

With visitor numbers reaching a record three million last year, Tourism New Zealand hopes to smooth the peak and troughs of visitor numbers by encouraging more tourists to visit outside the peak summer months. In some areas, like Auckland and Queenstown, accommodation is at capacity in January and February while for popular places like Northland seasonality means numbers can slump to 25 percent occupancy in the low season. Critics say parts of New Zealand are already experiencing the negative aspects of peak tourism with a high percentage of car accidents involving foreign drivers and local problems with so-called ‘freedom campers’. Read more: radionz.co.nz

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